Role of Fear in Salem Witch Trials Essay

on Fiorita Miss Perry Honors English III December 2, 2014 Thomas Putnam’s Corruption and Zeal Thomas Putnam, from The Crucible, plays a foremost role in the Salem witch trials in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Left with an appealing amount of land makes Putnam prosperous, however, it doesn’t appear to gratify his goal. During the course of The Crucible, Thomas Putnam uses manipulation, drive, and foremost corruption to better himself, and obtain this unending goal of creating a monopoly of…

accused witches. In the event of the Salem Witch Trials, dozens of innocent people were put to their death for truly grotesque reasons. One morning in January of 1692, two girls by the names of Betty Parris and Abigail Williams began experiencing anomalous fits, eventually leading to the accusations that they had been bewitched. Gradually, an increasing number of children began experiencing these fits which, unequivocally, began startling the Puritans of Salem, Massachusetts. In pursuit of…

Selena Rodriguez Professor Martinez ENGL2327-103 1 October, 2016 Salem Salem, when people hear this word their mind goes back to a time in history when innocent people suffered for being wrongly accused of a wrong doing. In the late 1600s, people in Massachusetts were being blamed and prosecuted for crimes they did not commit. The people of Massachusetts would be held accountable for crimes they did not commit and end up paying with their life. People like Cotton Mathers had something to say…

During the Salem witch trials, the innocent were murdered. The accusers of the supposed witches often wanted to seek revenge, hope for a better life, and have a role in society. Abigail Williams defines this description of an accuser in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Abigail Williams immorally accuses others of witchcraft in order to gain power, which is her motive for vengeance and her desire to be accepted for who she is, contrasting the ideal image of a powerless Puritan woman in society. This…

took place in the Puritan dominated Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. The entire community was thrown into chaos as a result of a group of girls claiming they had been bewitched by several old women. This very infamous case of hysteria not only showed that there was underlying blatant sexism and twisted misconceptions of women in New England, but it also exposed the dark side of Puritan beliefs. Therefore, the Salem witchcraft hysteria was indeed caused by a fear of women. Through evidence found in…

The Crucible, directed by Nicholas Hytner. While though this part of history is mostly known for the film version, it actually started as a play written by Arthur Miller in the 1950s. The movie is meant as reminder of the horrific 1692 Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts. This film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor, Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams, Paul Scofield as Judge Thomas Danforth and Joan Allen as Elizabeth Proctor, in an attempt to show the events…

The fear of the unknown generates the hatred and violent nature of humans. The desperation for a plausible explanation of a specific occurrence potentially causes a misinterpretation. Thus, creating monsters like vampires, werewolves, and witches, creates a scapegoat for a society that blindly accepts other’s belief as their own. Although witches are humans, they are considered to be creatures of the night for they worship the devil. The societal portrayal of witches specifically introduces only…

Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, is a partially fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials. Miller depicts Salem as a community filled with mass paranoia and fear that leads to the an atmosphere in which everyone was a potential witch. The story is centered on John Proctor and tells the story of the witchcraft accusations that lead to his death. Many people blame his death and the death of many others on Abigail Williams, a young woman whose lies lead to the death of many innocent…

Hale played an important role in encouraging and promoting the Witch Trials. He was called in to town by Paris to determine if it was really witch craft that cause the girls to become ill. In the beginning he was an avid believer of witchcraft. As it says in the passage above, he is a well educated man who has studied the subject plenty, and has even experienced "witches" in person. He was confident in himself to correctly weed out witches in the beginning. As the trials (that he started) wear…

year old puritan girl in Salem. Abigail covets John Proctor and being desired in return. Standing in her way, however, is Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife. Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. Through lack of realization that her childish actions will soon lead to Proctor’s death, dramatic irony is utilized. In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, there are a myriad of models of irony to accentuate hypocrisy of the witch hunt: the moral contradiction of Puritanism, Abigail’s role in a patriarchal…